|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 2:15 pm
Peace and quiet...it was something Halia gained little of nowadays. With Kaishara growing like a weed, both she and Aureate were kept busy parenting the filly. For now though, she was home, visiting with her family before life pulled her back to her mate. She'd announced the lifemating to her family with a beaming smile, but...couldn't quite bring herself to tell them about Kaishara, not yet. She wanted to treasure their unadulterated happiness, and perhaps pretend for a little while that she and her mate were just like any other couple. But now...in a tiny excuse for a meadow near her family's cave, reality rushed back to her. Her mate, her love, had dallied with another mare, produced foals by her. In the end he had chosen Halia, but the pain was still there, and would be for some time. With a soft snort, she nosed at grass and foliage with a despondent air.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 2:39 pm
Unknown to Halia, Helaku wasn't quite as inattentive as she might have expected the older stallion to be. When she'd announced the happy news of her lifemating, he'd congratulated her with the rest of the family, but his keen eyes could tell that something was off. Those icy eyes, so resembling the pale color of Olathe's, were clouded with troubled thoughts, and Helaku was determined to find out what could worry his granddaughter so. So when she excused herself, he waited a short while before quietly following after, careful not to be noticed...and as he watched her silently prowl the tiny meadow, he stepped forward. "Something on your mind...?" His voice was soft, a gentle prod for information.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 2:46 pm
With a startled noise, Halia jerked her head up to look at the stallion who was her grandsire. He'd followed her...was it really that obvious that she was hiding something? And she'd thought she'd done so well at masking her unsettled feelings... When Helaku spoke, it only confirmed her guess that she must have slipped in what was, to her, a neccessary deception for now. Ears flicking back, she sighed softly. "Maybe. I'm guessing you're not going anywhere until I tell you what it is either, are you?" The words came out harshly, and inwardly she winced. "Sorry..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 2:58 pm
"It's okay." The raccoon-masked stallion just smiled, a light chuckle escaping his lips. This granddaughter of his was a smart one, that was for sure. At the same time, his own hunch was seemingly confirmed by her reaction. He remembered times in his life when he had reacted to others in much the same way that she just had to him, and they had been times of heartbreak. What wasn't this impetuous granddaughter telling the family? "You remind me much of myself when I was your age, Halia...and sometimes, that worries me. I won't make you tell me anything that you don't want to, but I'd like to...well, I'd like to help. I know I wasn't here when you were a foal, but I'd like to make up for that, if I can." His smile turned into a wry grin. "So...there you have it."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 3:51 pm
A long moment of silence stretched out, as Halia pondered what to say to this. She reminded her grandsire of himself? She wasn't sure whether to be pleased or uneasy about that. Shuffling her hooves slightly in uneasiness, she figured she might as well be out with it. "It's about Aureate. You probably guessed but...I didn't tell you everything about...things." She shook her head, irritated at herself for her stalling. Just spit it out already! "He and I...we've been raising a foal. She's lovely, but..." Her eyes squeezed shut for a moment before she haltingly continued with her story. "Her mother became pregnant while Aureate was seeing me. He...told me about it as soon as he knew...then he asked me to be his mate." The ghost of a rueful smile slipped across her muzzle. "What could I say but yes? I love him...and he chose me. Even after this 'friend' became pregnant, even when he could have done the 'honorable' thing, he chose me. It just...it still hurts, a little." The dark-maned mare of violet and gold bowed her head. "So there you have it..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 4:22 pm
Dismay threatened to overwhelm Helaku as he listened to his granddaughter's tale, along with a surge of sympathy. "Oh Halia..." Stepping forward, he laid his neck over her shoulders and hugged her to him in a comforting embrace. "You really...you really are like me, aren't you..." With a soft sigh, he stepped back, his golden eyes somewhat sad. "I think, my dear child, you would be surprised at the similarities we share. What you speak of...it reminds me of when I was very young, a stallion just reaching adulthood."
He smiled, but it was a slightly mournful thing rather than an expression of joy or happiness. "Her name was Tetyawna...a beautiful mare, with a russet hide, short scruffy mane and long striped tail. When I met her, I was almost instantly won over to her side. But...it was not meant to be." His expression clouded slightly as he remembered. "Although I've long since attributed it to the will of the gods, I still remember the day she came to me with the news...she was mated. I had met the stallion once, when I was with her...I was suspicious of him at the time, but I had no clue...none." The stallion shook his head, sending ripples down his long mane. "I was devastated...angry--no, more than angry, enraged. Whenever she came near me, whenever I heard her name, I wished for nothing more than for her to go away. I took a mate, but she soon realized I was still caught up in my pain and we parted ways. Pain added onto pain...so it was for a time, slowly fading until I met your grandmother."
His smile this time was fond, recalling the memories. "Spirited, yet sensible...I loved her very much, your grandmother. We were happy, even though your own mother was so long in coming to be that she feared she was barren. I told her then, that even if she were I would not go...but what separated us in the end was, in a way, our offspring...and myself. As always, I have been at the root of my own problems. We didn't approve of your father, you know...and combined with my own lack of attention with your grandmother, she left." Helaku sighed. "Your mother felt herself responsible, and ran away...I wandered the forests, angry, alone, shoving away anyone and everyone--especially mares. Amara I met during this time...I was hostile and rude to her, that first meeting, yet she was patient and kind with me. She...she was the one to find me a short while later, after I was nearly killed."
The older stallion laughed now, a rueful grin on his face. "Even at my age, I can have a temper, but I bit off much more than I could chew. Even with the aid of the unicorn Amara found, I had to be careful of my broken ribs for quite a bit. After some time...I had become more comfortable with her, even more than comfortable. I realized I loved Amara...I asked her to be my mate. This was about the same time that I found your mother again." Helaku smiled contentedly before continuing, "I think...that was one of the happiest times in my life. Even after all of that, I could still be happy..." Shaking his head, he laughed again. "Oh gods, I've probably bored you to tears now. But really..." He sobered. "Really, I can relate to what you must feel. You're not alone in this."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 4:41 pm
Halia was startled when Helaku hugged her, but settled down to listen as his story was told. It stretched on...and on...and on...and on...truly, his life story, the troubles he'd gone through simply with finding love, dwarfed her own in comparison. Eyes wide as he finally finished, she was somewhat at a loss for words. "Yeah...I guess we are similar...aren't we?" she said in a very small voice. Desperation welled up within her, threatening to drag her down. "But I...I-I don't want to lose him. I can't...I need to be different. Tell me how to be different..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 5:02 pm
At first, Helaku thought this was a question he didn't know the answer to. But looking within himself...it was all too readily apparent what to say. "Forgive him," he replied, tone somber and serious. "Grant him the forgiveness that I should have found within my heart for Tetyawna so much sooner than I did..." He reached out, muzzle gently nudging her in a comforting manner. "And if you can, forgive the filly's mother. She may not have known...even if she did, it will only poison your relationship with Aureate if you hold hatred in your heart for her."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 5:12 pm
At first, rebellion surged forth in Halia's heart at the mention of the filly's mother. Forgive her, the one who had nearly stolen her love from her?! Biting back a harsh response, she thought it over. Her grandsire's words had merit, no matter what she thought of the mare. She already found it hard not to resent the filly, with her dusky beauty and vibrant hints of color. If she didn't forgive...she could lose the love she had so recently gained. "I...will think about it," she admitted slowly. "But they're probably starting to expect me...I should find them. May I go?" At a nod from Helaku, she turned, disappearing as she trotted off into the forest.
It had been an unexpected conversation, and she would have much to think about. With the will of the gods, she would make the right choices.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 6:04 pm
As Helaku watched his granddaughter leave in search of her mate and adopted daughter, he felt a strange sense of...contentment, perhaps. He wasn't sure of the word for it, but he felt that maybe, just maybe, one of his own would learn from his mistakes. If Halia could forgive Aureate and let go of her pain...everything, every single ounce of heartache he had gone through in his own life would be worth it.
He would relive Tetyawna a million times at this moment, if it meant that Halia would learn to forgive.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
